Mobile digital cellular telecommunication system with advanced functionality for rating correction

Abstract

A mobile digital telecommunication system, a computer-implemented method, and a computer readable medium having stored thereon a computer executable program code for processing of usage detail records (UDRs) is disclosed herein. The mobile digital cellular telecommunication system comprises a network component configured to generate the UDRs, a rating system and a billing system.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A telecommunication method in a mobile digital cellular telecommunication system, the method comprising the following being executed by a network component of the mobile digital cellular telecommunication system:
 establishing a connection with a remote terminal via the digital cellular telecommunication network; 
 providing a resource on the remote terminal via the established connection; 
 and sending a usage message to a pipeline batch processing system of the mobile digital cellular telecommunication system, the usage message comprising usage data related to a usage of the resource provided on the remote terminal, wherein the pipeline batch processing system is a data processing system configured to perform pipeline processing of data records according to a sequence of chained processes; 
 wherein the method further comprises the following being executed by the pipeline batch processing system: 
 receiving the usage message; 
 converting the received usage message into a record in a database of the mobile digital cellular telecommunication system, the record comprising the usage data, a primary key, and one or more secondary keys, wherein the primary keys are used for unique identification of the records in the database and the secondary keys are used for identification of groups of the records in the database; 
 generating charge amounts for the usages of the respective resources which usage data are comprised in the records comprising one or more of the secondary keys of a first key set; 
 adding the generated charge amount to the respective record; 
 generating an invoice record in the database, the invoice record comprising: 
 the primary keys comprised in the records comprising one or more of the secondary keys of a second key set, charge amounts comprised in the records comprising one or more of the secondary keys of the second key set, and the usage data comprised in the records comprising one or more of the secondary keys of the second key set; 
 receiving a request to correct the invoice record from a controlling component of the mobile digital cellular telecommunication system, the request comprising a correction specification of the respective usage data comprised in the invoice record; 
 correcting the usage data in the record comprising the usage data to be corrected, wherein the usage data is corrected according the correction specification; correcting the charge amount in the record comprising the corrected usage data; 
 generating a corrected invoice record in the database, the corrected invoice record comprising: the primary keys comprised in the invoice record, the corrected 
 charge amounts comprised in the records comprising the primary keys comprised in the invoice record, and the corrected usage data comprised in the records comprising the primary keys comprised in the invoice record; 
 wherein the adding of the generated charge amount to the respective record comprises the following being executed on the record to which the charge amount is added: 
 reducing data volume of the usage data in the record; 
 wherein the method further comprises the following being executed by the pipeline batch processing system on the record comprising the usage data to be corrected in response to the receiving of the request to correct the invoice record before the correcting of the usage data: 
 recovering of complete data volume of the usage data in the record; wherein the method further comprises following being executed by the pipeline batch processing system on the record comprising the corrected usage data after the correcting of the charge amount: 
 wherein the reducing of the data volume of the usage data in the record comprises the following: deleting a portion of the usage data in the record in which the volume of the usage data record is to be reduced, the deleted portion being redundant for the generation of the invoice record using the record in which the volume of the usage data record is to be reduced, and generating an auxiliary record in the database, the auxiliary record being linked by a foreign key relationship with the record in which the volume of the usage data record is reduced and comprising the deleted portion of the usage data; 
 wherein the recovering of complete data volume of the usage data in the record comprises the following: 
 merging the usage data stored in the record comprising the usage data which data volume of the usage data is to be recovered and in the auxiliary record linked by the foreign key relationship with the record comprising the usage data which data volume of the usage data is to be recovered in the record comprising the usage data which data volume of the usage data is to be recovered, and deleting the auxiliary record linked by the foreign key relationship with the record comprising the usage data which data volume of the usage data is recovered. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , the usage data being a Call Detail Record (CDR), wherein the generating of the charge amounts is executed batch wise for each group of the records comprising CDRs of the same type according to cumulative charging rules determining cumulative batch charging of CDRs of the same types. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the method further comprises following being executed by the pipeline batch processing system before the correcting of the charge amount on each of the records which charge amounts were previously generated in one batch together with the record which usage data is corrected:
 the recovering of complete data volume of the usage data in the record; wherein the correcting of the charge amount in the record comprises the following: 
 repeating of the generating of the charge amounts in one batch for a group of the records comprising the record comprising the corrected usage data; and substituting the previously generated charge amounts in the respective records with the newly generated charge amounts; 
 wherein the method further comprises the following being executed by the pipeline batch processing system after the correcting of the charge amount in the record comprising the corrected usage data on each of the records which charge amounts were generated in one batch together with the record comprising the corrected usage data. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 2 , the method further comprising the following being executed by the pipeline batch processing system:
 receiving another request to correct the invoice record, the another request comprising an instruction to repeat the generation of the charge amounts generated in one of the previously generated batches according to another cumulative charging rule; executing the recovering of complete data volume of the usage data in the record for each of the records which charge amount is previously generated in said batch; 
 after the executing of the recovering of complete data volume of the usage data in the record for each of the records which charge amount is previously generated in said batch repeating of the generating of the charge amounts in said batch according to the another cumulative charging rule; 
 substituting the previously generated charge amounts in the respective records with the newly generated charge amounts; 
 after the repeating of the generating of the charge amounts in said batch executing the reducing of data volume of the usage data in the record for each of the records which charge amount is previously generated in said batch; and after the substituting of the previously generated charge amounts in the respective records with the newly generated charge amounts executing the generating of another corrected invoice record. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the generating of the invoice record is executed according to one of convergent billing rules, wherein the convergent billing rule determines the following:
 a surcharge amount to be added to the invoice record in accordance with the usage data comprised in the invoice record and/or the charge amounts comprised in the invoice record; 
 and calculation of an overall charge amount for usage of the resources which usage data is comprised in the invoice record, the invoice record further comprising the overall charge amount. 
 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 5 , the method further comprising the following being executed by the pipeline batch processing system:
 receiving yet another request to correct the invoice record, the yet another request comprising an instruction to repeat the generation of the invoice record according to another one of the convergent billing rules; and the generating of yet another corrected invoice record according to the another one of the convergent billing rules. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 5 , wherein the convergent billing rule further determines a discount amount determining the charge amount for usage of one of the resources determined on a basis of the charge amount for usage of another one of the resources. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 5 , wherein the generating of the charge amounts is performed by a rating system of the pipeline batch processing system, wherein the generating of the invoice records is performed by the billing system of the pipeline batch processing system, wherein the usage messages are received from the network component, the resources being further provided via the network component, the method further comprising the following being executed by the network component:
 generating the usage messages related to the usage of the resources; wherein the method further comprises the following being executed by the pipeline batch processing system: charging an account of the user with the overall charge amount comprised in the invoice record if a remaining credit of an account balance of the account after the charging of the account with the overall charge amount comprised in the invoice record is above a threshold value, otherwise limiting the providing of the resources to said user; and after generating of the corrected invoice record, cancelling the limiting of the providing of the resources to said user and charging the account of the user with the overall charge amount comprised in the corrected invoice record, if a remaining credit of the account balance of the account after the charging of the account with the overall charge amount comprised in the corrected invoice record is above the threshold value. 
 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , the database being stored in a database system comprising a first data storage and a second data storage, the first data storage having shorter access time than the second data storage, the records being stored on the first data storage and the auxiliary records being stored on the second data storage. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises following being executed by the pipeline batch processing system in response to the receiving any of the requests to correct the invoice record:
 marking all of the records which primary keys are comprised in the invoice record, wherein the further generating of new charge amounts is executed only for the unmarked records, wherein the further generating of new invoice records is executed only for the unmarked records comprising the unmarked primary keys, wherein the generation of any of the corrected invoices is executed only of the records comprising the marked primary keys. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 1 , the first key set comprising the second key set. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 1 , the receiving of the usage messages comprising sequentially receiving groups of the usage messages, each group of the usage messages being received in a separate communication session, wherein the generating of the charge amounts for the usages of the respective resources which usage data are comprised in the records comprising one or more of the secondary keys of the first key set is executed when all groups of the usage messages are received. 
     
     
       13. A mobile digital cellular telecommunication system comprising a pipeline batch processing system, a network component, a controlling component, and a database, wherein the pipeline batch processing system is a data processing system configured to perform pipeline processing of data records according to a sequence of chained processes, wherein the network component is configured to perform the following:
 establishing a connection with a remote terminal via the digital cellular telecommunication network; 
 providing a resource on the remote terminal via the established connection; 
 and sending a usage message to a pipeline batch processing system, the usage message comprising usage data related to a usage of the resource provided on the remote terminal; 
 wherein the pipeline batch processing system is configured to perform the following: 
 receiving the usage message; 
 converting the received usage message into a record in a database of the mobile digital cellular telecommunication system, the record comprising the usage data, a primary key, and one or more secondary keys, wherein the primary keys are used for unique identification of the records in the database and the secondary keys are used for identification of groups of the records in the database; 
 generating charge amounts for the usages of the respective resources which usage data are comprised in the records comprising one or more of the secondary keys of a first key set; 
 adding the generated charge amount to the respective record; 
 generating an invoice record in the database, the invoice record comprising: the primary keys comprised in the records comprising one or more of the secondary keys of a second key set, charge amounts comprised in the records comprising one or more of the secondary keys of the second key set, and the usage data comprised in the records comprising one or more of the secondary keys of the second key set; 
 receiving a request to correct the invoice record from a controlling component of the mobile digital cellular telecommunication system, the request comprising a correction specification of the respective usage data comprised in the invoice record; 
 correcting the usage data in the record comprising the usage data to be corrected, wherein the usage data is corrected according the correction specification; 
 correcting the charge amount in the record comprising the corrected usage data; generating a corrected invoice record in the database, the corrected invoice record comprising: 
 primary keys comprised in the invoice record, charge amounts comprised in the corrected records comprising the primary keys comprised in the invoice record, and the corrected usage data comprised in the records comprising the primary keys comprised in the invoice record; and 
 wherein the adding of the generated charge amount to the respective record comprises the following being executed on the record to which the charge amount is added: 
 reducing data volume of the usage data in the record; 
 wherein the method further comprises the following being executed by the pipeline batch processing system on the record comprising the usage data to be corrected in response to the receiving of the request to correct the invoice record before the correcting of the usage data: 
 recovering of complete data volume of the usage data in the record; wherein the method further comprises following being executed by the pipeline batch processing system on the record comprising the corrected usage data after the correcting of the charge amount: 
 wherein the reducing of the data volume of the usage data in the record comprises the following: deleting a portion of the usage data in the record in which the volume of the usage data record is to be reduced, the deleted portion being redundant for the generation of the invoice record using the record in which the volume of the usage data record is to be reduced, and generating an auxiliary record in the database, the auxiliary record being linked by a foreign key relationship with the record in which the volume of the usage data record is reduced and comprising the deleted portion of the usage data; 
 wherein the recovering of complete data volume of the usage data in the record comprises the following: 
 merging the usage data stored in the record comprising the usage data which data volume of the usage data is to be recovered and in the auxiliary record linked by the foreign key relationship with the record comprising the usage data which data volume of the usage data is to be recovered in the record comprising the usage data which data volume of the usage data is to be recovered, and deleting the auxiliary record linked by the foreign key relationship with the record comprising the usage data which data volume of the usage data is recovered. 
 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 13 , the usage data being a Call Detail Record (CDR), wherein the generating of the charge amounts is executed batchwise for each group of the records comprising CDRs of the same type according to cumulative charging rules determining cumulative batch charging of CDRs of the same types. 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 14 , wherein the pipeline batch processing system is configured to perform the following before the correcting of the charge amount on each of the records which charge amounts were previously generated in one batch together with the record which usage data is corrected:
 the recovering of complete data volume of the usage data in the record; 
 wherein the correcting of the charge amount in the record comprises the following: 
 repeating of the generating of the charge amounts in one batch for a group of the records comprising the record comprising the corrected usage data; and substituting the previously generated charge amounts in the respective records with the newly generated charge amounts; 
 wherein the pipeline batch processing system is configured to perform the following after the correcting of the charge amount in the record comprising the corrected usage data on each of the records which charge amounts were generated in one batch together with the record comprising the corrected usage data. 
 
     
     
       16. A telecommunication method in a mobile digital cellular telecommunication system, comprising:
 receiving a usage message on a pipeline batch processing system from a network component, the usage message comprising usage data related to a usage of a resource provided on a remote terminal by the network component, wherein the pipeline batch processing system is a data processing system configured to perform pipeline processing of data records according to a sequence of chained processes; 
 converting the received usage message into a record in a database of the mobile digital cellular telecommunication system, the record comprising the usage data; 
 generating charge amounts for the usages of the respective resources; 
 adding the generated charge amount to the respective record, wherein the adding of the generated charge amount to the respective record comprises the following being executed on the record to which the charge amount is added: reducing data volume of the usage data in the record; 
 generating an invoice record in the database, the invoice record comprising charge amounts and their respective usage data; 
 receiving a request to correct the invoice record from a controlling component of the mobile digital cellular telecommunication system, the request comprising a correction specification of the respective usage data comprised in the invoice record; recovering a complete data volume of the usage data in the record comprising the usage data to be corrected; 
 after the recovering of the complete data volume of the usage data in the record comprising the usage data to be corrected correcting the usage data in the record comprising the usage data to be corrected, wherein the usage data is corrected according the correction specification; 
 correcting the charge amount in the record comprising the corrected usage data; after the correcting of the charge amount in the record comprising the corrected usage data executing the following on the record comprising the corrected usage data: the reducing of data volume of the usage data in the record: and generating a corrected invoice record in the database, the corrected invoice record comprising the corrected charge amounts and the corrected usage data 
 wherein the records in the data base comprise respective primary keys and one or more respective secondary keys, wherein the primary keys are used for unique identification of the records in the database and the secondary keys are used for identification of groups of the records in the database, 
 wherein the generating of the charge amounts for the usages of the respective resources is executed for the resources which usage data are comprised in the records comprising one or more of the secondary keys of a first key set; 
 wherein the invoice record comprises the primary keys comprised in the records comprising one or more of the secondary keys of a second key set, wherein the charge amounts comprised in the invoice record are comprised in the records comprising one or more of the secondary keys of the second key set, and the usage data comprised in the invoice record are comprised in the records comprising one or more of the secondary keys of the second key set; 
 wherein the corrected invoice record in the database comprises the primary keys comprised in the invoice record, wherein the corrected charge amounts are comprised in the records comprising the primary keys comprised in the invoice record, wherein the corrected usage data are comprised in the records comprising the primary keys comprised in the invoice record; and wherein the reducing of the data volume of the usage data in the record comprises the following: deleting a portion of the usage data in the record in which the volume of the usage data record is to be reduced, the deleted portion being redundant for the generation of the invoice record using the record in which the volume of the usage data record is to be reduced generating an auxiliary record in the database, the auxiliary record being linked by a foreign key relationship with the record in which the volume of the usage data record is reduced and comprising the deleted portion of the usage data; wherein the recovering of complete data volume of the usage data in the record comprises the following: 
 merging the usage data stored in the record comprising the usage data which data volume of the usage data is to be recovered and in the auxiliary record linked by the foreign key relationship with the record comprising the usage data which data volume of the usage data is to be recovered in the record comprising the usage data which data volume of the usage data is to be recovered and deleting the auxiliary record linked by the foreign key relationship with the record comprising the usage data which data volume of the usage data is recovered.